Land Use committee continues work on countywide zoning ordinance
The Barren County Land Use Committee is developing a new countywide zoning ordinance, including regulations for high-intensity technological infrastructure like data centers, in response to community demand. This initiative follows a vote by the Barren County Fiscal Court to enact zoning where none existed in unincorporated areas. Separately, a data center moratorium in Cave City is currently being challenged in court by the Kentucky Industrial Alliance.
The Barren County Land Use Committee convened its second meeting to review a draft countywide zoning ordinance, a comprehensive document exceeding 100 pages. Planning Director Kevin Myatt presented Article 16, which outlines requirements for merchant electric generating facilities like solar and wind farms, and later introduced a revised Article 17, specifically regulating high-intensity technological infrastructure, including hyper-scale data centers. This ordinance aims to fill a regulatory void, as unincorporated areas of Barren County currently lack zoning restrictions for such facilities.
The committee, an advisory body to the Joint City-County Planning Commission, was formed following a July vote by the Barren County Fiscal Court to enact countywide zoning. Mr. Myatt emphasized that the planning commission is responsible for drafting a document that meets citizen needs and is acceptable to the fiscal court for final adoption. The process includes subsequent Land Use Committee meetings and a public hearing on October 19 before the Joint City-County Planning Commission.
The urgency for a comprehensive ordinance stems from community demand for better regulation of data center construction. While Glasgow and Park City have classified data centers as heavy industry with conditional use, Cave City has imposed a one-year moratorium on new data center applications. This moratorium is currently facing a legal challenge from the Kentucky Industrial Alliance. The draft ordinance was prepared with the assistance of R.M. True of Kentucky Steward LLC, a consultant specializing in high-intensity technological infrastructure regulations.
The committee, composed of citizen members, magistrates Tim Coomer and Marty Kinslow, and planning commission representatives, will continue to refine the ordinance and map. Once approved by the Planning Commission, the document will be forwarded to the fiscal court for a final up-or-down vote, after which it can be amended as a "living document."